


Kids That I Once Knew

by CamelotQueen



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: A4 Speculation, Angst, Canonical Character Death, Endgame, Gen, Hallucinations, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Reality Stone (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 05:30:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17277992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CamelotQueen/pseuds/CamelotQueen
Summary: With a whoosh, everything seems to disappear and the air gets knocked out of Tony’s lungs. Suddenly, he’s alone.“Mr. Stark.”The voice comes from right behind him. He whips around and freezes. Standing there, looking exactly the same as the last day he saw him, is Peter Parker.Tony can’t form any of the words he wants to say. The sounds get lost in his mouth and instead he gapes like a fish at the figure, trying to comprehend what he’s seeing.Peter smiles. “You came back for me.”





	Kids That I Once Knew

**Author's Note:**

> Listen, this is 100% absolutely not gonna be how it happens in Endgame, but I had the idea and I just went with it. 
> 
> The title is from the song Dead Hearts by Stars.

Everything is in place. Their plan, two years in the making, is finally coming to fruition. All the pain, tears, hopelessness, and desperation lead to this moment. 

 

One way or another, it ends today. 

 

They all get into position. They’re about to land on Titan, with Nebula driving the spacecraft. Tony hasn’t been here in two years, and he’s scared to step foot on the planet again. The last place he’d ever seen him…

 

The orange atmosphere comes into view. The very one that has haunted his nightmares. Seeing it again in person feels surreal. He never wanted to come back here. 

 

But he has a job to do. 

 

Behind him, Steve, Thor, and Rocket get ready… the ones chosen for this mission. Rocket and Nebula are the most familiar with space travel, while Steve, Thor, and Tony are among their strongest players. They’ve trained for this, prepared for every possible outcome. They’ve dedicated their lives for the past two years to this cause, the only one that still matters. Everyone else back home is depending on them. 

 

“Remember, this piece of shit has all the infinity stones, and no compunctions about playing fair,” Rocket reminds everyone as the craft lands on the dusty terrain. “Anything can happen, so stick to the plan and keep your comms on at all times.” 

 

“There’s only one thing I’m planning on happening today,” Thor responds, swinging his axe. “And that’s decapitating that monster before he even knows what hit him.” 

 

Thor has been a lot more ruthless since coming back. But Tony supposes… so were all of them. Living in hiding even turned goodie-two-shoes Cap into a bearded menace, and he’s not sure if Rocket or Nebula have ever smiled a day in their lives. 

 

Even himself, after The Snap, has not found very much to smile about…

 

When he came back, Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy were still all alive, thank god. So was May Parker. He was the one who had to personally knock on her door and deliver the news. It was the hardest thing he’d ever had to do in his life. 

 

He and Pepper agreed to temporarily put their wedding on hold. It just didn’t make sense, with the world having ended and all. 

 

_ “When you come back, we’re setting a date,” Pepper demanded right before he set off. “We’re not putting this off any longer.”  _

 

_ “Of course,” Tony responded. “In fact… how does May 24th sound to you?” A promise.  _

 

_ Pepper kissed him. “It sounds perfect.” Come back, her eyes pleaded. _

 

“We are here,” Nebula announces when they finally land. “According to these energy readings, the gauntlet is close by.” 

 

“Then so is Thanos,” Steve adds. “Stay sharp.” 

 

Tony nods. Things are still tense between them. Two years of working together still haven’t managed to heal the wounds between them, but they’re getting there. Losing someone extremely important to them has managed to soften both of their prides a little, and give them something to talk about at least. Everyone’s lost someone. 

 

They step out of the ship. It knocks Tony’s breath away for a moment, to see it all again. Exactly as he’d left it. Nebula looks at him. She remembers that day all too well. 

 

He braces himself and keeps moving. He’s had two years to grieve, today he has to focus. It’s the endgame now. 

 

They walk for a bit and don’t come across anything. It’s quiet… eerily so. They’re all on edge, waiting for Thanos to pop out at any moment. But he doesn’t. 

 

“Where is he?” Thor asks after a few minutes. 

 

“He should be here,” Nebula responds. “The energy tracker brought us here.” 

 

“I don’t see him,” Steve says. 

 

Rocket grumbles under his breath. They continue walking for a moment until something catches Tony’s attention. 

 

“Wait,” he holds his hand up. They all stop. “Do you hear that?” 

 

They look around curiously like they’re listening for something. In the distance, he hears what sounds like someone shouting. It sounds like… his name?

 

_ “Mr. Stark!”  _

 

Wait…

“I hear it too,” Steve says, dumbfounded. “It sounds like…” 

 

“Groot?” Rocket interjects, looking around frantically. 

 

Tony looks at the group. They’re all looking for the source of the sound. But it seems to be coming from every direction. 

 

_ “Mr. Stark!”  _

 

With a  _ whoosh,  _ everything seems to disappear and the air gets knocked out of Tony’s lungs. Suddenly, he’s alone. 

 

_ “Mr. Stark.”  _

 

The voice comes from right behind him. He whips around and freezes. Standing there, looking exactly the same as the last day he saw him, is Peter Parker. 

 

Tony can’t form any of the words he wants to say. The sounds get lost in his mouth and instead he gapes like a fish at the figure, trying to comprehend what he’s seeing. 

 

Peter smiles. “You came back for me.” 

 

There’s so many things Tony wants to say.  _ I’m sorry,  _ and  _ Please forgive me,  _ and  _ Of course I came back for you.  _ But nothing comes out. 

 

“I’ve missed you,” Peter says. 

 

“I…” he swallows. “I’ve missed you too,” Once he starts, he can’t seem to stop. Suddenly the words come tumbling out. “I’ve missed you  _ so  _ much. God, kid, you have no idea. I’ve gone to the edge of the universe to get you back. I did everything I could for the chance to say I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. You deserved better. And now you’re here… how?” 

 

Peter laughs, his eyes filling with tears. Tony feels his doing the same. 

 

“I’ve never left, Mr. Stark. I’ve been waiting for you.” 

 

And that doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t make  _ sense  _ because Tony saw Peter turn to ash. He disappeared in his own hands, but here he is like nothing’s changed. 

 

“And it’s not your fault, Mr. Stark,” Peter continues. “There was nothing you could’ve done.” 

 

“I should have saved you,” Tony disagrees. “It should’ve been me.” 

 

“No, don’t say that,” Peter pleads. “You’re much more important than me.” 

 

“How could you even say that?” Tony scoffs. “Kid, there’s never been anyone more important and  _ good  _ than you. The world hasn’t been the same since you were gone.” 

 

Peter gives him a sympathetic smile. A tear falls down his cheek and he aggressively rubs it away. Then he’s leaning forward and reaching out to him and Tony meets him halfway. They collide into each other and he squeezes him so hard that he would probably break the ribs of an average person. But Peter is far from average. 

 

His armor melts away so he can hug Peter closer and it’s just the two of them, hugging and crying. 

 

“Peter,” he murmurs, clutching the back of his head. “Peter…” 

 

“Mr. Stark…”

 

In his comms, he hears other voices. He’s almost forgotten the rest of the group, so wrapped up in finding Peter. 

 

“Guys, Peter is here,” he says breathlessly into his comm. “He’s here, he’s safe…” 

 

_ “Bucky is here too,” _ Steve responds, equally as emotional.  _ “I don’t know how… oh god…”  _

 

_ “Loki, my brother…” _ Thor chokes.  _ “He’s back.”  _

 

_ “My sister, Gamora,” _ Nebula whispers. 

 

_ “Groot,” _ is all Rocket says. 

 

“How…” Tony looks at Peter, but he’s just looking back at him with starry eyed adoration. Tony keeps a hand on his shoulder, not willing to let go of him, afraid that he’ll disappear again. “I can’t believe…” 

 

“It’s really me,” Peter says. “I’m here.” 

 

Tony is too happy to question it. For the first time in two years he feels… whole. Like the part of him that cracked and broke off when Peter died finally came back. He smiles and it hurts his cheeks. Tears threaten to fall down his face. 

 

_ “This isn’t real.” _

 

Tony is snapped out of his perfect reverie. 

 

“What?” 

 

_ “This isn’t real,” _ Nebula repeats.  _ “It can’t be. Gamora is dead. They’re all dead.” _

 

“But he’s right here,” Tony tightens his fingers around Peter’s shoulder. He feels real. He looks around. Everyone else is gone, he doesn’t know where they went. 

 

_ “Thanos is playing us,” _ Nebula says.  _ “He’s warping our realities.” _

 

Peter is here. But where is everyone else?

 

_ “No, Bucky is here,” _ Steve argues.  _ “He’s here and he remembers me. This isn’t fake.”  _

 

_ “It’s the Reality Stone,” _ Nebula insists, but she sounds like she doesn’t want to believe it herself.  _ “This isn’t real.”  _

 

Tony looks back at Peter. He looks more afraid now. But he can  _ see  _ him and  _ feel  _ him. He has to be real. 

 

_ “We have to get out of here,”  _ Nebula sounds panicked now.  _ “We’re trapped.”  _

 

_ “If this is a trap, it’s a pretty nice one,”  _ Rocket grouses.  _ “Do what you want, lady, but I’m stayin’ here.”  _

 

“Mr. Stark?” 

 

Tony turns back to Peter’s attention. He’s looking at him with wide, questioning eyes. Tony gestures to his ear. 

 

“Comms,” he explains. “My teammates are just talking to me.” 

 

“What are they saying?” 

 

_ “If this isn’t real, then how do we leave?”  _ Thor asks quietly.

 

Tony shakes his head.

 

_ “I don’t know…”  _ Nebula sounds tortured.  _ “I can’t get out of here. I don’t… want to get out of here. He’s trapped us in a prison of our own deepest desires. We can’t escape the power of the Reality Stone.” _

 

Tony doesn’t believe a word she says. This is real, of course it’s real. 

 

… How can he prove that it’s real? 

 

“Peter,” he says abruptly, causing the kid to perk up. “Do you remember the last thing you said to me?” 

 

Peter looks taken aback. “I, uhhh… don’t really remember. It’s all such a blur…” 

 

“I’ll give you a hint,” Tony says, half-joking. “It’s something you say  _ way _ too much.” 

 

“Uh…” Peter struggles. “I love you?”

 

Tony’s heart sinks. 

 

Peter’s never said that to him. 

 

“That’s it, bud,” he lies, patting his shoulder. “You got it.” 

 

Peter smiles, but he looks worried. “Is everything okay, Mr. Stark?” 

 

Tony feels his heartbeat quicken. If Nebula is right, and this is the work of the Reality Stone… then Thanos is close. Who knows how much time they have? 

 

Tony crouches down so he’s eye level with Peter and clutches both of his shoulders. “Peter, listen to me…” 

 

Peter looks uncomfortable. Tony’s stomach ties up in knots. He has an idea, but he doesn’t know if it’ll work. 

 

“I love you. I love you so much,” Tony’s tone has taken on a note of desperation. But he needs Peter to understand. 

 

He doesn’t want to do this.

 

“Mr. Stark? You’re scaring me…” 

 

Tony squeezes his eyes shut and tears slip out.  _ He’s not real, he’s not real,  _ he repeats to himself. This can’t be real. Peter turned to dust. He’s gone. He can get him back, but not this way. Not if he stays stuck in this reality that Thanos has trapped him in. 

 

He needs to get out. 

 

“I’m sorry, Peter.” 

 

Tony’s armor reengages and he forms a blade with his nanobots. The same kind that was driven into his side years ago. And he feels the pain just the same when he drives it into Peter’s chest, so quick that he doesn’t even have time to react. 

 

Peter’s eyes widen in shock. He stumbles back and his mouth opens. Blood pours out. 

 

“Mr… Stark…” he chokes around the blood, and Tony can feel the betrayal wafting off Peter in waves. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Tony sobs. He lowers his head to Peter’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry.” 

 

Peter’s fingers grasp desperately at his armor. He struggles to stay upright, heaving in gasps and spitting out blood. 

 

“Why…” 

 

Tony pulls the blade out abruptly. Peter makes a pained sound that breaks his heart. He never wanted to hurt Peter. He never wanted to do this. 

 

Peter’s knees buckle and Tony grabs him by the elbows and helps lower him to his knees. Peter leans his head on Tony’s shoulder and Tony wraps his arms around him. Peter breathes in wheezing gasps, coughing up more blood. 

 

“Shh, shh…” Tony soothes. “It’s okay. It’ll be over soon.” 

 

Peter collapses even more and Tony leans him back into his arms, looking up at him. Just like when he died before. Tears trail down Peter’s cheeks and his chest convulses, trying so hard to breathe around the blood bubbling up into his lungs. Tony has to close his eyes, but it’s no good. The image of Peter, bloody and crying by his own hand, is seared into his memory. 

 

“Why?” Peter asks again. 

 

“Shh,” Tony whispers. “I love you.” 

 

Peter cries. He keeps crying while his breathing slows, while his hand trails down Tony’s chest and leaves a bloody print, until it finally slackens and falls. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Tony whispers one last time. 

 

He holds Peter’s body tightly and mourns him for a second time. His fault, always his fault. And even though it’s been two years, the sensation of him crumbling into dust is still so familiar. He watches, again, as his blank eyes, so sad and staring at the sky, turn to ash and blow away in the breeze. Tony is once again left with hands full of ash, the only reminder that the kid was ever there. 

 

And then the illusion breaks. Suddenly, he’s back on Titan with Steve, Thor, Rocket, and Nebula. They are all standing still and staring into space with wide eyes, unmoving. 

 

Tony scrambles up and runs to Steve. “Hey, come on guys! Square up! You heard Nebula, it’s a dream! It’s not real! We have a war to fight!” He snaps his fingers in front of his face. 

 

“Bucky…” is all Steve says. 

 

Tony runs to Thor, then to Rocket and Nebula. None of them respond to him, even when he shakes them. It’s like they’re hypnotized. 

 

“I’m impressed, Stark,” says a deep voice behind him that Tony recognizes from his nightmares. “I seem to constantly underestimate you.” 

 

Tony spins around and is faced with the Mad Titan himself. He’s just as intimidating as he remembers. Massive, imposing, and the damaged gauntlet glittering on his hand. 

 

“I see you had the willpower to break out of the Reality Stone’s grip,” Thanos muses. “Not many can do that. To kill the very one you see as a son… you and me have a lot in common.” 

 

“I’m  _ nothing _ like you!” Tony snarls and lunges for him, despite his better judgment. 

 

As he should have expected, Thanos casually raises his fist and the stones glow as Tony is easily flung aside. He hits a rock and crumbles to the ground. Thanos could kill him right now, easily. He could have killed all of them as soon as they stepped foot on Titan. But he hasn’t. 

 

He’s just playing with them. 

 

Tony snarls and stands back up. Thanos is smirking at him. It fills him with such rage, to see the man smiling that ended life as he knew it. He roars and lunges at him again, only to be easily thrown aside once more. 

 

“You’re alone,” Thanos taunts. “Your friends can not help you. You could not take me before, what makes you think you can now?” 

 

Tony stands up. Rocks and dirt crumble off his body. 

 

“Proper motivation.” 

 

He lunges again, but this time he launches two rockets at the same time, from either side. He gets easily thrown again, but the rockets land their mark, and Thanos is knocked unsteady. 

 

He needs to get that gauntlet off. While Thanos is wearing it, he’s too powerful and Tony will never be able to defeat him, especially not alone. He needs to rethink the tactics he used last time. 

 

Thanos regains his balance and aims the gauntlet at him. Instinctively he creates a shield in front of him to withstand the blast. It doesn’t drag him back like it did years ago. His technology is stronger and the gauntlet is weaker. 

 

Tony twists away to evade the blast and he attacks Thanos from the side, coming at him with his own energy beams, which absorbed the power of the mstones and redirect it back at him. 

 

Thanos shouts in frustration and falls heavily. Tony doesn’t give him time to recover. He directs more nanobots to his fists and hits Thanos repeatedly. Then he slams down against both his wrists and the bots flow from his suit to wrap around them and pin them to the ground. 

 

Thanos tries to pull away from them at first, but Tony’s technology is able to withstand his strength, thanks to the powerful Wakandan resources he had access to. He has a second to feel smug until the gauntlet glows and his hands phase right through the confines. 

 

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” Tony gripes. 

 

He tries to retreat but Thanos has a hand around his throat before he can act. He’s lifted up and squeezed by giant hands. He can feel the metal of his suit caving in and crushing his windpipe. He can’t breathe. He struggles, but it doesn’t budge and he’s left hanging limply in the air. Blackness crawls at the edges of his vision. 

 

“No more games,” Thanos growls. “You cannot defeat me. You’ve embarrassed yourself by coming back here, and now it will cost you your life.” 

 

Thanos raises the gauntlet again, and for a moment Tony accepts it. He failed. He’s going to die. But then he thinks of Peter, who died in his arms crying that he didn’t want to go. He thinks of May, who he promised to bring back her only family left. He thinks of the whole world… the whole  _ galaxy  _ in mourning and if he doesn’t stop it here and now, maybe no one ever will. And it’s up to him to stay alive and defeat Thanos. 

 

For Peter. 

 

The gauntlet glows and Thanos raises it close to his face, but before anything can happen, Tony forms a blade with his suit and aims it upward as hard as he can, with as much strength as he can muster. 

 

It collides with Thanos’ arm and he howls, dropping Tony. He collapses to the ground and gasps for air, but he has no time to recover. While Thanos clutches his arm in pain, Tony twists around and blasts him again, knocking him against a wall of rock. He throws his arms out and the nanobots disperse, leaving his body to trap Thanos against the rock in a vibranium prison. 

 

Thanos howls, trying to break free but he’s overpowered. The gauntlet lights up and Tony does not hesitate. He forms a blade with what’s left of the nanobots and he  _ hacks, hacks, hacks  _ at the arm. 

 

Thanos  _ screams  _ and the power of the gauntlet throws him back to the ground. He gets back up quickly and keeps going. The whole planet seems to shake from the raw energy radiating from the stones. It loosens rocks from the top of the cliff and they rain down on Tony, hitting him hard and cutting his skin, but he doesn’t stop, he keeps hacking until the arm is  _ off _ and he’s covered in blood, both his own and Thanos’. 

 

The gauntlet lands on the ground with a resounding  _ thump.  _ The alien is heaving and pulling at his restraints. Tony himself is left gasping for air and exhausted. The red stone dulls and the world suddenly seems much more quiet. 

 

“Tony…” 

 

Steve’s voice. Tony turns around. The spell is broken and everyone is standing there, horrified. 

 

“What happened?” 

 

They all look rightfully concerned as they stare at the aftermath of the fight. Tony is bruised and bleeding, in serious need of medical attention. Thanos is pinned to the rocks, covered in Tony’s armor and amputated at the elbow. 

 

Before Tony can respond however, he hears the sound of rocks crumbling. They all turn to see Thanos rip free from his confines by breaking through the rocks. He wrenches the nanobots off and lunges at Tony with a yell. Tony can do nothing but watch with wide eyes. He has no armor, he’s completely defenseless. 

 

Something flies past him with a  _ shng  _ and the next thing Tony knows, Thanos’ body crumples to the ground, his head landing a few feet away. 

 

Tony looks back at Thor in fascinated horror as the axe lands back in is hand. 

 

“Told you that I’d aim for the head this time,” he says. 

 

Tony wants to laugh, but he can’t. He’s still in shock over everything that’s just happened. 

 

“Tony,” Steve draws his attention back to him. “What  _ happened?”  _

 

“Barney trapped us all in our own realities,” Tony summarizes, waving his hand towards the body of Thanos. “Showed us what we wanted to see most so we couldn’t get out. But… I did. And I got the gauntlet off of him.” 

 

He feels distant, like he’s watching everything happen and he’s out of his body. He can’t believe it… did he really pull that off? 

 

“By yourself?” There’s a disbelief in Steve’s voice that makes Tony’s blood boil. 

 

“Evidently.” 

 

“How did you break out of the illusion?” Thor asks. “None of us were able to.” 

 

Tony shrugs, suddenly ashamed. “I guess I was able to do what none of you were willing to do…” 

 

His mind is suddenly filled with reminders of what he’s done. What he was forced to do. To watch. He looks down at his hands. He can’t believe they were capable of committing such an atrocity. 

 

“Which was?” 

 

He can’t say it. Can’t admit it out loud, what he’ll stoop to in order to win. The shame burns deep. 

 

They all look at him expectantly and he bows his head. He deserves their judgement. He deserves whatever comes his way for doing what he did, even if it was just an illusion. 

 

“... I killed him.”

 

He’s met with silence. He knew it. They’re disgusted with him. How could they not be? He stared into the eyes of the kid he swore to protect, to save, and he murdered him. 

 

“Thanos thought none of us would have to balls to kill our loved ones,” he explains, head bowed. “He didn’t realize he was up against a man whose morals are as questionable as his own.”

 

He can’t see their faces, but they continue to say nothing. Their judgment is loud and clear. 

 

He flinches when he feels a hand land on his shoulder. He looks up to see Cap giving him a sympathetic smile. 

 

“You did what none of us couldn’t,” he said. “You faced that horror to get Peter back… the  _ real  _ Peter. Without you, we never would have been able to defeat Thanos.” 

 

Tony stares at him in disbelief. 

 

“But… I  _ killed _ him.” 

 

“It wasn’t really him,” Steve explains. “And I knew… I think we all knew something was off. But the rest of us were content to stay in our fantasy worlds if it meant having even a facsimile of our friends back. You did what you had to do.” 

 

Steve smiles comfortingly at him, and something akin to fondness runs through Tony’s veins. He hasn’t felt that way toward Steve in five years. He weakly smiles back. 

 

“So…” Thor interrupts. “It’s over.” 

 

He walks over and picks up the severed arm as if it wasn’t a bloody, detached body part. He holds it by the gauntlet and shakes it roughly until the arm falls out. Tony scrunches up his nose, despite being the one who amputated it. It’s grotesque to see it handled it so casually. It flops lifelessly to the ground. 

 

Thor raises the gauntlet questioningly. “Shall we?” 

 

It dawns on Tony that this is the end. Truly. After two years of planning and waiting, it’s finally over. Thanos is dead. Now it’s the moment of truth… can they bring everyone back? 

 

Steve nods next to him. They had agreed beforehand that out of everyone, Thor should be the one to wield the gauntlet. He’s the most powerful Avenger, and he was worthy of wielding the hammer. He has the best shot at successfully handling it. 

 

Thor looks to him for his approval, and he silently nods too. With everyone in agreement, the god of thunder slips the gauntlet onto his hand. It’s comically large on him, but then all of a sudden it isn’t. It shrinks to conform to his hand. Colorful bolts of lightning seem to course through his veins at the contact. Tony and Steve step back in shock and Thor grimaces and shouts at the power radiating through him, but then his eyes glow blue and his own lightning crackles around him, and it settles. He breathes heavily and looks back to them. 

 

“Are you ready?” Cap asks. They all stand around him in nervous anticipation. Whatever happens next could either be really good or really bad. 

 

Thor nods, then shrugs. “What have I got to lose?” 

 

And then he snaps. 

 

For a second, the world goes white. 

 

Tony feels himself being thrown back by some invisible force. He lands harshly in the dirt and raises his arms to shield his eyes, but then the next second it’s gone. Tony hesitantly lowers his arms and looks around. Everything seems quiet. He looks to Thor. He’s still alive, thankfully, but seems worse for the wear, and the gauntlet even more so. It had already been damaged in its first use years ago, now it’s even more so. The gold is blackened completely and it’s barely holding itself together. 

 

“Did it… work?” Steve asks. 

 

“I don’t know,” Thor responds honestly. “It should have…” 

 

“How can we tell?” Rocket asks. 

 

Tony is stumped. It looked like it did something, but nothing feels different. Shouldn’t the universe feel like it shifted back into place or… something? 

 

“Mr. Stark?” 

 

And there it is. The great shift. 

 

He turns around in the direction he heard his name called. Everyone else turns too. There, in the distance, several figures approach.

 

“Mr. Stark!” 

 

One figure runs in front of the rest. Tony squints and he can see him clearly. 

 

“Peter!” 

 

Suddenly he’s running too. He distantly hears Rocket behind him shout the name of his own companions, but he’s deaf and blind to everything else in the world except the kid running toward him. 

 

Peter collides into him so hard that he’s knocked over. He wonders now how he possibly thought the illusion was real at first. Peter’s exuberance cannot be duplicated. 

 

“You did it!” Peter exclaims, rolling off of him and smiling brightly. “You saved us! I knew you would. I waited for you.” 

 

Tony has to shake his head to get his bearings. Somehow, this feels less real to him than the illusion. Probably an effect of the Reality Stone, making you believe in something that’s not really there. But this… Tony can’t believe his eyes. Peter is right in front of him. 

 

“You waited?” He asks, voice choking up.  _ Oh no. Don’t cry…  _

 

Peter nods. “All this time.” 

 

And that breaks Tony. The tears well up and he feels one slip, but he ignores it. There’s so many questions he has, but those can be asked later. For now, he leans forward and hugs the boy again. He holds him close, for the first time in two years, and let’s himself relax. 

 

He did it. Peter’s back, he’s safe, and he can return him to his aunt. Spider-Man can run his patrols again, monthly movies nights can resume, and Tony’s life can get back on track. 

 

The world is whole again. 

**Author's Note:**

> Smh this is the cheesiest thing I've ever written, just take it.


End file.
